This, the second edition of the collected plays of William Shakespeare, is commonly known as "the second folio." The so-called "first folio" was printed in London and issued in 1623 by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount. It contained 36 plays, 18 of which had never before appeared in print, including Macbeth, The tempest, and Julius Caesar. Before the first folio, a number of Shakespeare's plays had been published in various smaller formats that were often edited poorly, with significant textual divergences between editions

The front matter contains commendatory verses and epistles dedicatory from contemporaries and admirers of Shakespeare, including Ben Jonson, James Mabbe, Leonard Digges, Hugh Holland, and John Milton. "An epitaph on the admirable dramaticke," included for the first time in the second folio, is Milton's first published poem

This edition was issued with numerous variant imprints, each reflecting the names of different booksellers who had shares in the venture. Remainder stock was reissued, probably ca. 1641 and again at a later date. See: Todd, W.B., "Issues and states of the Second Folio", in Studies in bibliography, v.5 (1952-53), p. [81]-108. Greg also enumerates these variants

Colophon: Printed at London by Thomas Cotes, for John Smethwick, William Aspley, Richard Hawkins, Richard Meighen, and Robert Allot, 1632

Signatures: [superscript pi]A⁶ *⁴ A-2B⁶ 2C² a-y⁶ 2a-3c⁶ 3d⁴.

Numerous missigned leaves and errors in pagination are present. See Greg for further detail

Title page vignette (Droeshout portrait); head- and tailpieces; initials

Bartlett, H.C. Shakespeare early editions

Boston Public Library. Barton collection catalogue

ESTC

Greg

Pforzheimer

STC (2nd ed.)

Boston Public Library (Rare Books Department) copy G.174.2 bound in modern red goatskin. Housed in a green cloth box. All text block edges gilt. Final leaf (3d4) remargined. Leaf [superscript pi]A1 lined with silk. All leaves of front matter tipped-in. Following leaves similarly reattached: C4, G1, S2, S3, Z6, 2A1, a2, d1, 2d5, 2h2, 2i3-2i5, 2t6, 2v1, and 3d3. Richard Heber's inscription and ink stamp are present on the front flyleaf recto. Armorial bookplate of the Barton Library.

Boston Public Library (Rare Books Department) copy G.174.2 contains front matter that displays the typographical peculiarities characteristic of the first issue, variant Ib, as described by W.B. Todd. However, because the issues and variants are differentiated via their front matter -- all leaves of which have, in this copy, been reinserted, possibly from a different copy or group of copies -- the entirety of G.174.2 cannot be conclusively ascribed to any single issue.

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